Steven Spurrier led our tasting of 48 Santa Barbara County wines.

One of our highlights while in Santa Barbara County was a wine tasting with Steven Spurrier. In the United States wine trade, Spurrier is noted for organizing the 1976 blind wine tasting in Paris where a California Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon scored higher than prestigious producers from Burgundy and Bordeaux. That singular event put California on the world’s wine map. People having dinner at restaurants began demanding wines from California.

Our tasting took place at Clos Pepe Estate east of the town of Lompoc. We entered the gated property and drove along vineyards on the way to the Clos Pepe house. The tasting was in the dining area at a large table set for the seven of us to taste through flights of 48 Santa Barbara wines. Morgen McLaughlin of the Santa Barbara Vintners Association introduced us. When it was mentioned that Kathy and I made wine in the country Georgia, Steven Spurrier took a moment to recount a story about his visit to the country ten years ago. He commented on the wine made from Saperavi. He drank a lot of the wine during evening dinners that were Georgian Supras. Steven said he never had a hangover. Then on his last day, he drank Saperavi in the morning during breakfast and a hangover hit him. Steven had good things to say about Georgian wine.

White wine flight

On to our wine tasting, we tasted wines grouped in flights. There were two Chardonnay flights and a flight of other white wines. There were three Pinot Noir flights, two Syrah flights and a flight of other red wines. In total we tasted 48 wines only given the year produced and the appellation. As we tasted through the wines, we took notes. Steven then asked us for our top two wines from each flight. He added scores and declared which of the wines the group liked the best. This was a very congenial group of wine professionals. There were no major disagreements and even when there was a minor disagreement the group was pleased to go with the declared winner.

Throughout the tasting Steven Spurrier kept us on track and was always the perfect gentleman. He mentioned the potential that Santa Barbara has for wines especially Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Syrah. Of the three, he believes the Pinot Noir have world-wide appeal because they represent what most people want to drink. After our group chose the top wine of a flight, Steven often simply stated, “Brilliant!”

Steven Spurrier congratulating the winemakers

After the tasting we ambled to the beautiful patio when many of the winemakers that entered wines assembled for a lunch that was fabulous. Steven Spurrier spoke to the winemakers congratulating all of them for the work they were doing. He then mentioned the top choice for each flight. The assembled winemakers were congratulatory to the winemakers that made the top choice in the flights. We then socialized, drank wine and ate the wonderful dishes prepared by chefs at Clos Pepe.

Curious of how I scored compared to the group, on four of the nine flights I chose the same wine as the group for the top choice. There were only two of the flights that my top choice and second choice did not place. The group seemed well matched. The Santa Barbara wines showed well and we left the tasting with a positive outlook on Santa Barbara wines.

Cheers,
Terry